Suffering Through Silence
by eternallydaydreaming
Summary: After the attack on Altissia, Gladio is left grieving over a war that will never end.


"Come at me, asshole," he seethed through clenched teeth. With broadsword in hand, he glared down the Marlboro. What the hell was he thinking? The one they encountered earlier took four men (well, three and a half, considering Ignis had a huge handicap) to take the first Marlboro down before entering the ancestral tomb. Yet here he was, all by his lonesome, staring the monster in the face. If anyone was around to witness the sight, one would think he had a death wish. Maybe he did. All he knew was that a blinding rage impaired his judgement. He was pissed at the world and someone needed to pay for it so may as well be this fucker. Besides, killing the Marlboro would be a service to humanity.

Releasing a screech, the giant tentacled beast scurried toward Gladio. Sidestepping, he swung his sword but managed to only graze its skin. For a big guy, the Marlboro certainly moved fast. Turning sharply the Marlboro raced toward him again. Opening its mouth, the Marlboro prepared to exhale its poisonous breath. Gladio rolled out of its path, took a defensive stance, and carefully stepped behind the beast before sprinting forward. With a quick swing across his body, Gladio's sword tore halfway through the Marlboro's body before becoming lodged in the middle of its brain. Placing his foot against its head, he pushed forward while yanking his sword out of the corpse. The Marlboro plopped into the shallow water, sending out rings of disturbed ripples. Gladio gazed down at his kill only to feel empty inside. He stood unfulfilled…and wet as he had dodge rolled in the marshy waters. On top of the water trickling down his body, Gladio stood with his feet sloshing in soaked boots. The hunt no longer felt worth his while. Tears stung his eyes as he growled out a loud scream of agony. If he could he would have pounded his rage into a punching bag. Since that was not possible he settled to dropping onto his knees and rammed his fists into the soft mud.

A high pitched shriek snapped him out of his thoughts. Gladio looked up in time to see a dagger flying toward him. Wide-eyed, his reflex kicked into autopilot, and he snapped his body sideways. The dagger penetrated through the eye of a miniature Marlboro. The pained cries rang hauntingly through the air like a banshee. In one fluid movement, Gladio stood up, lifted his sword over his head and sliced the infant down the middle, silencing its wails instantly.

"You could have warned me, you know!" Gladio bellowed, storming toward his friend who was standing at the edge of the marsh. "The hell were you aiming at anyway?"

"The Marlboro, obviously," Ignis informed matter-of-factly.

Gladio glared in annoyance though the desired affects were lost to the blind man. Grunting softly, Gladio then muttered, "Why bother when you can't even see?"

"I can still hear though," he informed while pointing to his ear. "I am also quite proficient at knife throwing. Losing my sight has not rendered me an invalid."

"That may be true, but you still nearly impaled me."

The information caused Ignis to pause as he digested the ramifications of his action. "My apologies," Ignis said sincerely with a hushed tone.

Gladio touched his sword, and it dematerialized into its magical sheath. Being a king's liege definitely had its perks; one could carry a great load and none would be the wiser. As he approached Ignis on his way back to the campsite, Ignis intercepted the larger man by grabbing his oversized bicep.

"You are troubled."

Gladio snorted and even though he wished to throw a snide comeback, he refrained. He wasn't in the mood to be chastised. Instead he asked, "Aren't you?"

"I have been the focal point of conversation far too much today. Besides I am not the one attempting to wake the dead with my cries."

Point – Ignis.

"I'm…just so pissed off!"

"With whom?"

"Everyone!" Gladio whipped his arms out wide to accentuate the totality of it all. "With Niflheim, with Ravus, the fall of Insomnia, and most of all with Noctis. The little shit needs grow his balls and start acting like a king."

"Will you fault him for not readily stepping into a role he was not trained for?"

Gladio released a derisive sneer. "You mean the role he kept running away from. Even you used to bitch about Noctis spending time at the arcade rather than attending any of the council meetings. Or that you'd give him the notes you took but would remain untouched. The opportunities were there, Iggy, so don't make excuses on his behalf."

Gladio attempted to storm off only to have his path be blocked off by the cane.

"There's more to this," Ignis surmised. "You have known about Noctis's habits for years yet have done nothing to guide him except in the art of war. How can you expect him to step up and lead while he still grieves? He has lost so much between his father, his home, and now Lady Lunafreya."

"The same as us," he growled back. "Noct is not the only one who has lost everything! We all lost something! We all had families in the Crown City the day it fell! You too, Iggy! Your uncle would have been in the Citadel in the middle of the attack."

Silence descended except for some sniffles that Gladio tried to wipe away with the back of his hand. Finally overcome by emotion, Gladio slumped onto the ground, propped his arms over his bent knees, and hung his head low as if to hide his sorrow. Placing his hand on Gladio for support, Ignis carefully took his seat next to his friend and waited for Gladio to proceed.

"I'm just so done with it all, Iggy. The war, the bloodshed, the suffering. It's all we have ever known. It was what we were born into even if we haven't directly felt it growing up. My whole life has been spent training for battle though we grew up with a false sense of security living behind the Wall while the glaives from the refugee slums fought on the frontlines. I sometimes wonder if our guard has been down all this time, never anticipating that Insomnia could actually be conquered. Perhaps if we were more prepared, then my father and mother wouldn't have died. I'm lucky that Iris wasn't in the midst of all the devastation. Her surviving gave me some hope. But still, in all of the chaos, I never had the time to mourn over my parents' death. Then Altissia went down. It just reminded me that it's never going to end. It's just a cycle of death and destruction and all Noct will do is mope over it all when none of us have been afforded that luxury."

"Luxury?" Ignis repeated curiously at the choice of word. "You believe Noct is enjoying a life of luxury? Noct has the burden of ending the war with Niflheim. He is taxed with retrieving the crystal. To wear the Ring of the Lucii. To protect his people from the terrors of the night. All of these duties King Regis had carried out, but have you ever looked at his station and thought that he truly lived a life of luxury. The king's duty is one of great burden and Noct's support system has been falling one-by-one. He needs us more than ever. We cannot afford to perseverate on our own inner turmoil."

Running his hand through his hair, Gladio averted his eyes, feeling a bit ashamed of thinking Noctis wasn't taking his responsibilities seriously. At what point did Ignis become a master of making people feel crappy for their selfishness? When Ignis's hand gripped his shoulder again, he still would not turn to face him. Pushing off of Gladio, Ignis stood up and turned to return to the camp.

"Gladio, you are correct in that you have not had time to properly come to terms with your loss. Give yourself that time now. There's no telling when will be your next opportunity. Good night."

"Night," Gladio mumbled as Ignis began walking back with his cane outstretched, searching for obstacles. Perhaps he should have gone to help guide Ignis back to camp. On the other hand, Ignis would have insisted that he worked on regaining his independence. Turning his head to the millions of stars twinkling in the sky, Gladio could only think back on the family camping trips from his youth. Those times now felt like a distant memory. A tear rolled down his cheek as his lips quivered into a weak smile. "If only I had known when I left Insomnia that it would be our last time together, I wouldn't have taken our time together for granted."


End file.
